By Jim Gordon, The Wine Enthusiast, March 2022
This fun and refreshing light-pink wine offers effusive red-cherry and pistachio aromas and tutti-frutti flavors that seem to defy its apparently bone-dry balance.
By Jim Gordon, The Wine Enthusiast, March 2022
This fun and refreshing light-pink wine offers effusive red-cherry and pistachio aromas and tutti-frutti flavors that seem to defy its apparently bone-dry balance.
This immense wine is wrapped tightly in tannins, holding the black currant and black cherry flavors firmly in check while a drying sensation puckers the palate. It has good focus and concentration underneath all that, which bodes well for aging.
The wine showed a dark garnet color. Black cherry, raspberry, cassis, vanilla, plum and oak all arrived on the nose. Black cherry, raspberry preserves, plum, vanilla, blackberry and oak followed on the palate where the black cherry notes stole the show. The wine was full-bodied and exhibited great length along with soft tannins. This elegant wine would pair very well with a hearty lamb stew.
With 10% Petit Verdot and 5% Cab Franc added in, this 100% French oak-aged red is distinguished in its demeanor. A wave of black cherry and mocha plum are dispatched on a plush pillow. Chewy, the liquid engages with chalky, teeth-coating tannins and develops an intimacy with the palate. A valentine of plum and pomegranate is delivered on the finish.
Seductive oak-spice aromas and a rich but gentle palate make this full-bodied wine compelling and delicious. Cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg and cigar-box scents lead to ripe blueberry and mocha flavors and relatively soft tannins.
This annual post looks back at all the wines I wrote about in the previous year and singles out 50 that I thought were great wines. “Great” doesn’t necessarily imply the most profound, though several of these are as profound as wine gets; nor does it necessarily mean that these are the world’s famed wines intended for laying down in cellars for long aging. I don’t usually encounter such wines anyway.
Deep purple color. The nose shows a nice mix of tangy plums and blueberries, with spicy pepper, anise, some coffee, toffee and mocha. Nice grip on the palate but the tannins have these suave edges and the acidity is really nice, balancing out the deep plum and currant fruit. Notes of black olive, tar, mocha, black pepper and bell pepper add complexity, and I love the deep, earthy, mineral and stony vibes in here. There’s a ton of freshness in here for a Petite Sirah. This puppy will age wonderfully. All PS aged in all French oak.